S2E18 - Chip Klose's Approach to Restaurant Growth

Episode Notes

In this episode, Chip Klose, a Restaurant Coach with over two decades of experience, shares insights on improving profitability in the restaurant industry. He emphasizes the importance of focusing on customer needs and unique qualifications, managing revenue, cost of goods sold, and labor, and implementing effective marketing strategies. Chip also discusses his coaching program, success stories from his clients, and the motivation behind starting the Restaurant Strategy podcast. Additionally, he highlights the value of sharing knowledge through different formats, including his book, The Restaurant Marketing Mindset.

Chip Klose discusses the key principles of restaurant marketing and shares insights on the future of the industry. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the ABCDs of marketing: audience, brand, competition, and differentiation. Chip also highlights the significance of internal and external marketing strategies and provides practical tips for restaurant owners. He predicts a new style of dining that utilizes technology to create a more efficient and hospitable restaurant experience. Chip concludes by sharing his upcoming projects and initiatives, including a new book and speaking engagements.

Takeaways:

• Focus on customer needs and unique qualifications to solve their problems.
• Manage revenue, cost of goods sold, and labor to improve profitability.
• Implement effective marketing strategies to acquire new customers, retain existing customers, and generate word-of-mouth.
• Create systems and processes to make restaurant operations more predictable and profitable. The ABCDs of marketing (audience, brand, competition, and differentiation) are essential for restaurant owners to understand and apply.
• Internal marketing, such as effective communication with employees, and external marketing, including setting goals and using tools to achieve them, are crucial for success.
• The future of the restaurant industry may involve a new style of dining that utilizes technology to create a more efficient and profitable yet hospitable experience.
• Chip Klose has upcoming projects, including a new book, speaking engagements, and the growth of his mastermind program.

Timestamps:

00:00: Introduction and Three Key Focus Areas 01:14: Chip Klose's Background and Journey in the Restaurant Industry 04:59: Lessons Learned from Opening Michelin-Starred Restaurants 06:24: The Importance of Focusing on Customer Needs and Unique Qualifications 08:21: The Challenges of Running a Restaurant Business 09:19: The Difficulty of Managing Revenue, Cost of Goods Sold, and Labor 10:38: The Need for Predictability in the Restaurant Industry 13:18: Coaching Restaurants to Improve Profitability 15:38: The Three Key Areas of Restaurant Marketing: Customer Acquisition, Customer Retention, and Evangelism 20:55: Managing Prime Cost and Controlling Revenue, Cost of Goods Sold, and Labor 24:48: The Coaching Prog